Card playing game



April 18, 1939. R. l.. DoDG CARD PLAYING GAME Filed March 25, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet l k Rao-0aL/ge INVENTOR auw M ATTORNEY.

April 18, 1939. R. L.. DODGE CARD PLAYING' GAME Filed Maron 23, 195,7

IN O SHIPS QCHHQ S IHS ONI B A R K e or more masied vessel. Hermastbcing and ged,wht'le1he t' are square rigged.

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he q att ng masts RaZp/7L-D0afge INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED s'rA'ri-:s

VCARD PLAYING GAME Ralph Laurence Dodge,'Wilmington Del. ApplicationMarch 23, 193,7, Serial No. 132,484 `3 Claims. (Cl. 273-152) Thisinvention relates to a series of games, which I herein designate by thedistinctive and descriptive term, ,"Ino game series". [My invention isespecially intended for members of youth organizations, like the BoyScouts and Girl Scouts of America. By playing the games the players willlearn fundamental facts of scouting besides being entertained. Myinvention has for its further purpose to provide a series of.cardrplaying 0 games adapted `to be played by two or moreperv sons,adults or children, wherein the questiony of occurrence of chance playsan important role,

but wherein also the individual ability or alert-y ness of therespective players may be shown with 7 interesting and surprisingresults. The more specific objects and advantages of theV invention willbecome apparent from a consideration of the description following, takenin connection with accompanying drawings illustrating cards from gamesin the series.

,Each game of my invention consists of a plurality of play sets(preferably eight) ofpla'y cards, each play set containing the samenumber of cards, the number of cards in each play set being a perfectsquare, preferably 25, and in addition a single master set of' mastercards, which contains a number of cards at least equal to the number ofplay cards in anyone play set, preferably forty-five master cards. Thecards of the play sets, as well as those of the master set 'comprising asingle game in the series covered by my invention, are of uniform,shape,`preferably but not necessarily 31/2 inches high by 21/2` incheswide.

Each play card has drawn, printed, stamped or otherwise marked on oneside (hereinafter referred to as the -face) an unlabeled symbolrepresenting a. selected object, person, scene, or concept. It will beunderstood that by the use of the word object I mean to include objectswhich may be either animate or inanimate. Each master card has drawn,printed, stamped or otherwise marked on its face a'symbol, and inaddition may have a.l legend giving the correct name or names of thesymbol thereon, and in addition a short description of some of thesalient facts peculiar to the symbol thereon.

Each different symbol on the cards comprising a single game in theseries may represent an object, person, scene, or concept commonlygrouped under a single general category. For example, the symbols shownon the drawings in Figures 1 and 2 represent objects commonly groupedunder the general category of knots, and illustrate the faces of twocards in the Ino Knots game of the Ino game series. As a furtherexample, the symbols shown on the drawings Figures 3 and 4 representobjects commonly grouped under the general category of ships", andillustrate the faces of two cards in the Ino Ships game of the Ino gameseries. t

It is obvious that one skilled inthe art may vary the symbolsto coverother categories thanv those previously referred to and illustratedwithout departing from'the spirit of my invention.

It is proposed to `design the play cardsofeach game in the'seriescovered by my invention and to so arrange the same that there are noduplicate symbols in` any one set of play cards, although all sets ofplay cards need not be, and preferably are not, identicalin their facecomposition. The reverse side (hereinafter called the back) of eachvplay card may have adesign, the name of the game and a numeral, whichindicates the set number to which the card belongs.4 This numeral mayalso appear on the face `of each lli` meral 1 clearly printed, stamped,or otherwise marked on the back, as illustrated in Figure 5.

(The similarmarking of the cards in the Ino Ships game is illustrated inFigure 8.) In a similar manner each of the twenty-five cards belongingto set number 2 of this game has the same design, the words Ino Knotsand the numeral 2 clearly printed, stamped, or otherwise marked on theback, etc.

It is furtherproposedto design the master cards of each game in theseries covered by my invention and to so arrange the same that there isfor each of the play cards containing different symbols, one master cardhaving printed, stamped or otherwise marked on its face a duplicate ofthe corresponding symbol appearing on the play card.

Each of the mastervcards preferably has onl its face, in addition to thesymbol, a printed legend giving the correct name o r names of the symbolthereon. Below the correct name, and preferably in smaller type,'mayalso be printed suitable pertinent data. descriptive of the symbolthereon, as illustratedin Figures 2 and 4. `The back of the master cardsin a game, as illustrated y in Figures 6 and '7, has printed, stamped orotherwise marked thereonthe same designand the same name as appears onthe back vof the play cards of the same game, and` in place of thenumeral appears a letter, preferably M", vto indicate that the cardbelongs to the master set. This letter may also appear on the face ofeach of the master cards. y

The master set is designed so that there is no duplication of symbolsand legends among the cards of the master set. The number of cardscomprising a master set will obviously depend upon the number ofdifferent symbols included in the play sets. For example, the number ofdifferent symbols appearing in a single Ino game with twenty-five playcards per set is, preferably,

forty-five, in order to' insure that some play sets 'will containsymbols not appearing in all the and to further insure that several ofthe symbols will appear in each of several of the play sets. It isobvious that the number of diierent symbols appearing in a single Inogame can be varied between a lower limit equal to they number of playcards in one play set, and an upper limit equal to the number of playcards in any one play set multiplied by the n umber of play sets in thegame, without departing from the spirit of my invention. y

'I'he game is best played by one player for each of the play sets inuse, although moreplayers thanI the number of play sets provided inl thegame can participate by having two or more players collaborate onseparate play setsas partners; in vwhich case, theplayers'vcollaborating on any one play set constituteY a team.

Before the play starts one of the participants '.is selected by lot, orvolunteers, to act as leader.

When the game is being used primarily for purposes oi instruction, thegroup teacher is normally thev leader. The leader does not play in thegame.

The leader gives to each player or team one of.y the play sets, forexample, of twenty-fiveA cards y each. Each player (or team) deals hiscards face up into a pattern before him. The pattern has the i'or'm. ofa rectangle, five cards high and ilve cardswide, in thecase rof a playlset of twenty-flve cards in this preferred example, six cardsY high andsix cards Wide in the case of a play set of thirty-six cards, etc'. Whenthe patterns of all the players (or teams) have been properly arranged.the leader shuiiles the master set. He then turns one master card atatime from the top oi the master'set, in suchma way that the face of theturned master card cannot be seen by any of the players. He reads aloudirom the legend the 'correct name of the symbol appearing thereon, andasmuch of the pertinent data as he deems advisable. He then places the fcalled master card face down in a pile for later checking. y

Each' player, asv soon as he recognizes in 4his own pattern of playycards the play card bearing the symbol representing the name called bythe leader, turns the recognized play card face down in its originalposition in his pattern. 'I'he turning and calling of 'master cards bythe leader is continued at regular intervals, at a speed suited to theskill of the players, until one of the players (or teams) hasy acquiredin his (or its) pattern of play cards, five cards (in the case of thepreferred example) face down in a straight row, either vertically,horizontally, or diagonally. The player-or any memberof a team) firstacquiring a straight row of turned play cards eithervertically,horizontally, or diagonally across his rectangular patterncalls Ino (pronounced Eye-know") and the game halts until his turned rowis checked back against ythe turned master cards to be sure that theplayer (or team) has correctly identified the symbols. If theidentification is correct the player (or team) wins the game. If theplayer (or team) first calling Ino`i has failed to identify correctlythe symbol. on any one of the pla cards comprising the straight row, he(or it) is eliminated from further play in this particular deal, and theleader resumes turning and calling the master cards until a correctwinner is found.

Another deal is started by redealing the play cards face up as before,reshufiiing the entire master set and repeating the above directions.

VIn thus playing the games'comprising the Ino game series, it will beevident that the players soon learn the correct names of and pertinentfacts concerning the objects, persons, scenes or concepts illustrated bythe symbols on the cards. Rules for playing other than those detailedabove may be used.` a.

Various changes may be made in the details of the invention withoutdeparting therefrom or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim: Y

'1. A game'comprising a plurality of play sets, each play set containingthe same number' of cards, the number of play cards in each play setbeing a perfect square, each play card 'having an unlabeled symbol,theyindividual play cards in any one play set differing from the otherplay cards in the same set with respect to the un# labeledsymbols'thereon, each play card having a distinguishing markingindicating the play seti to which the play card belongs, and a singlemaster set containing a numberof master cards at least equal to' thenumberof play `cards in any one play set, each master card having adiil'erent symbol, which duplicates one of the different unlabeledsymbols on theplay cards, each master card having a distinguishingmarking indicating that it belongs to the master set.

2. A game comprising a plurality of play sets, each play set containingthe same number of cards, the number of play cards in each'play setbeing a perfect square, each play card having an unlabeled'symbol, theindividual play cards in any one play set differing from thel other playcards in the same set with respect to the un-4 labeled symbols thereon,eachA play card havingv set, each master card having a different symbolwhich duplicates one ofthe different unlabeled symbols on the play cardsand having on the same side of themastervcard as thevsymbol 'a' legend,each master card having a distinguishing marking indicatingv that itbelongs fto the master set. i

3. A game comprising a' plurality of play sets, g

each play set containing the same number of cards, the numberk of playcards in each play set l being a perfect square, each play card havingan unlabeledV symbol, the individual play card's'inv any one play setdiffering from theV other play cards in the same set with 'respect tothe unlabeled symbols thereon, each play card having a distinguishingmarking indicating the play setiv to which the play card belongs, and asingle mas? ter set containing a number of cards at least equal to thenumber of play cards in any one play set, each master card having adifferent symbol, which duplicates one of the different un labeledsymbols on the play cards, and having on the same side of the mastercard as the symbol a legend which gives the name and a description ofthel symbol, each master card having a distinguishing marking indicatingthat it belongs to the master set. 'Y

RALPH LAURENCE DODGE.

